3. Find tranquillity at Lake Waikaremoana

4. Observe from the Kaiti Hill Lookout

Get a birds-eye-view of Gisborne and Poverty Bay where the Maori first encountered Captain Cook, the British explorer. A fun fact about the Captain Cook statue at the lookout: he is actually wearing an Italian uniform rather than the British one. Fail!

10. Hike the Spiritual Mt Hikurangi

11. Explore Rere!

There’s a lot of fun to be had in the Rerearea outside of Gisborne. Bring a bodyboard or an air mattress for the Rere Rockslide, a picnic for lunch at the Rere Waterfall, your wetsuit for the Champagne Pool, and your walking shoes to stroll around New Zealand’s national arboretum.

12. Ride the waves

Embrace the Kiwi lifestyle by grabbing a board and heading to the beach. There are many decent surf breaks in the Gisborne area and here are themain ones: Midway Beach, Waikanae Beach, Wainui Beach and Makorori Beach.